Andrea Barber, the proprietor of My Three Sons Vending, has one request of her patrons.
Please don’t kick her vending machines.
As she prepares to invest at least $16,000 in several machines her goal is to take good care of her investment. Kicking and or abusing the machines, she says, is like harming one of her three sons. As a single parent, that does not fit well with her.
My Three Sons Vending is Barber’s way of filling the gap of the lack of healthy foods in some communities. Items sold in the machines include kettle-cooked chips, whole wheat crackers, trail mix, dried fruits, gluten free fruit snacks and organic cookies, all ranging from 25 cents to $1.75.
“In the future, I plan to expand the menu to sandwich wraps, fresh fruits, yogurt, smoothies and pumas,” she said, noting that the items will be priced up to $6.50. “I want people to know if they eat healthy on the run that they will feel better and that it makes a great impact on their life.”
One of her goals is to sell locally-grown and produced products.
In 2015 Barber started the business with a gumball machine. She used it as a way to assist her oldest son who has a disability. “I wanted him to be able to count and think critically and logically.” Also, she said, as a single mom she did not want to have to work multiple jobs leaving her children in situations where they might get sucked into the street life. “Being an entrepreneur provides me with a flexible schedule as well as the opportunity to include them and teach them about business.”
She said at the ages of 10 and 8 they are not too young to know how to shake hands and to look people in the eye when they are talking with them. Her youngest son, who is 3, is also being taught how to shake hands.
The gumball machine was used to recruit one of her first clients, The Assemble Afterschool Program in Garfield. A community space for arts and technology with students of all ages utilizing their services, she said they were a perfect fit.
Soon after placing the gumball machine at Assemble, she became active with the East Liberty Family Support Center housed in the Kingsley Association. The Support Center became the site for her first vending machine. Now located in the first-floor lobby of the Kingsley Association, Barber said she is looking for similar venues to place other machines. “The Kingsley is a high-traffic building which is perfect for my machines. I’m looking for high-traffic buildings, organizations and businesses looking to provide healthy snacks to their customers and clientele to place machines.” She identified schools and learning institutions, community centers, churches, technology businesses, office buildings and gyms as ideal locations.
With the goal to place 12 machines throughout the area, Barber is strengthening her financial capacity, going through the Allegheny County MBE/WBE certification process and attending countless networking events throughout the city. She participated in the Kiva Pittsburgh loan process, a program that assists small business owners get the financing they need to grow and create jobs. The $4,000 she raised was used to purchase two vending machines and to purchase inventory. By next week she’s hoping to be approved to receive funding from Bridgeway Capital. Apprehensive and excited at the same time, her plan if she receives the money is to purchase touch screen machines. By utilizing an application on her cell phone, these new machines will allow her to keep track of the inventory. “It’s a very efficient way to keep track of my products, saves time and labor,” Barber said.
A Stanton Heights native, Barber, 31, is a graduate of Career Connections High School in Lawrenceville. She studied at the former ICM School of Business to be a medical assistant. She was a certified nursing assistant for seven years and worked for a pharmaceutical company before realizing that the medical field was not the profession for her.
“Believe in yourself even if others don’t and people laugh at you. Stop blaming others for stuff and strive to be the best,” she said. “Be willing to sacrifice. I have made a lot of sacrifices along the way, and as a result my goal is to continue to work hard and pass the business down to my sons if they are interested in becoming entrepreneurs or upon graduation, if they chose to return home they will have a job to come back to.”
(To have a vending machine placed at your business, contact Barber at 412-980-6801, or mythreesonsvending412@gmail.com.)
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